Three Simple, Free Ways to Improve Your Shooting Skills

Here’s three easy ways to improve your shooting skills. Best of all, they’re free! Before undertaking any training with a firearm, make sure you’re familiar with how to operate the weapon safely. Always check to confirm that the firearm is NOT LOADED before commencing the drills listed below. This may sound excessive, but place all live rounds in a different room from the one you will be training in. After training, do something else for several minutes before reloading your firearm. Take a break. Have a cup of coffee – then, if you keep your firearm loaded for personal protection, reload it. Always remember the four rules of gun safety while handling firearms.

1) Dry firing. Balance a spent casing, or a penny or other small object on the front sight of your pistol. Identify your target – it could be a light switch on a wall for example (remember, know your target, and what’s beyond – don’t point the firearm at a wall when someone is on the other side). Practice pulling the trigger with your target in sight without allowing the spent casing to fall off of your sight. This requires a steady hand and smooth trigger pull.

3) Read, watch, discuss and learn. There’s a wealth of free information on the internet. Find some good shooting blogs online and read up. I’m a big fan of YouTube myself – There are a lot of really knowledgeable firearms instructors and gun enthusiasts on YouTube. Join the conversation. Create an account with a gun forum, and ask questions. Nothing replaces the value you get from live training, but you can learn a lot by being a sponge to the information around you.

***BONUS: It’s not free, but it is extremely cheap – practice shooting with airsoft guns. This is a great, inexpensive way to sharpen your shooting skills!***